


Fixed

by pleasereadmeok



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Total Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasereadmeok/pseuds/pleasereadmeok
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You… are a very bad assistant mechanic and you need to be punished.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fixed

**Author's Note:**

> This is total fluff. Not related to any episode. I just thought people might need cheering up after last Sunday’s episode. This is basically a DA version of an old fashioned Diet Coke ad - you'll see what I mean.

“Here. Hold this please.”  
Henry handed the greasy engine part to Mary who held it at arms length, in her white-gloved hand, like an unexploded bomb.  
“Sorry Anna.” She said under her breath when she saw the black oil soaking into the material. “Can you fix it?”  
“Yes I think so but I will…” He emerged from the engine and looked Mary up and down with a smirk.  
“What is it? Have I got oil on my face?”  
“No – not yet. I was going to say that I will need your help and I was just thinking you are the loveliest assistant mechanic I’ve ever had.”  
“I should hope so – they’re all men.”  
“Exactly. Definitely not as pretty as you.”  
“Well I’m rather thankful for that.” She beamed a smile at him. “Of course I’ll help you if I can. I don’t want to be stuck out here with you all night.”  
“Oh I don’t know, it might be rather fun, we’d have to sleep together in the car.”  
“THAT would not be ‘fun’, just very uncomfortable.”  
He peered into the car sizing up the back seat.  
“Mmm. Maybe a little uncomfortable but definitely a lot of fun.” Henry winked at her and Mary was annoyed to feel the heat rush to her cheeks.

“Right. I’d better get stripped down otherwise my valet will be cursing me.”  
“Good heavens, you actually have a valet?”  
“Mmm, more of a general factotum who keeps me from becoming too feral. Hold this.” Henry handed Mary his jacket and she tried to hold it well away from the greasy engine part. “Don’t drop that now, we’ll need it to get the car going again.” He said as he removed his waistcoat and deposited that on Mary’s arm as well. He started to unbutton his shirt and greasy marks appeared on the crisp white cotton.  
“I think your man deserves a medal. He must have to scrub your …”  
Mary’s words tailed off to silence as she looked at the man in front of her, stripped to a sleeveless vest that left nothing to her imagination. She tried not to stare, but it was rather tempting.

“I’ll put these in the car, but first …” Henry took advantage of the fact that Mary’s hands were full and leant to kiss her. The clothes were thrown into the car and the engine part dropped to the ground.  
“Mmm.” Was the only sound the powerless Mary could utter, she was lost in the wonderful thoughts and feelings that kissing Henry always summoned up.  
He broke free with a smile,  
“Maybe you could be my assistant mechanic more often? You’re doing a splendid job so far.”  
He let her go, pecked a quick kiss on the end of her nose and returned to his task.

Mary watched Henry closely while he fixed the car. Because he was tall he always looked trim in his day and evening clothes and so she had never really noticed his physique. She had not discerned the sinews that ran down his neck to his broad and strong shoulders, the shape of his muscular chest and his firm abdomen. She was fascinated by each flex of his muscles, as they tensed and retracted with each small movement as he worked. Each time he looked up to smile at her, she pretended to look bored – but she was far from bored. 

Henry straightened up to face Mary and was amused to see that she seemed to be mesmerised by his chest.  
“Mary?” His smiling eyes told her that he knew exactly what she had been thinking for the last bliss filled half an hour. “Mary I’m going to need one of your stockings to replace the fan belt.”  
“You’re joking of course.”  
“No, not all, I promise you. Would you like me to help you take it off?”  
“No thank you. I will be checking this with Tom later – if this is some ruse to get my stockings off, you will pay for it. Turn your back.”  
“Spoil sport!” Henry turned his back and slyly adjusted the wing mirror of the car so he had a good view of Mary rolling the stocking down her thigh and off.  
“Here. Take it.”  
“Thank you. Mmm – it’s still warm. Lovely. That should do the trick.”  
He leant into the engine again and Mary had a pleasant few minutes appraising his backside. 

“Mary, I asked you where is the blah blah blah part that I gave you?”  
Henry didn’t say ‘blah blah blah’ of course, but that’s how it sounded to Mary.  
“Oh! I must have dropped it!”  
His hands went to his hips and he pretended to scold her.  
“You dropped it! I told you to be careful with it.”  
“I’m sorry, but you kissed me and I…”  
She pointed to the oily part on the grass.  
“You… are a very bad assistant mechanic and you need to be punished.”  
With a wicked grin he loomed over her at his full height and backed her against the side of the car to kiss her, even more passionately than before. He held his greasy hands away from her body, but Mary had no such constraints, her hands ran over his back and then into his hair as they kissed.

“Alright, you’re forgiven, for now. I’ll punish you later.”  
Mary giggled like a schoolgirl, thrilled at the thought of what her ‘punishment’ might be. Henry picked up the part and disappeared into the engine again.  
“That should do it. I’ll just get cleaned up.” He said as he dropped the car bonnet back into place. He walked down to a stream that was close by and washed his hands, pulling off his vest to use as a rag to clean himself. Mary was transfixed.  
_“Oh this is just ridiculous now!”_ She chastised herself. She managed to shut her wide-open mouth just a little too late when he turned around.  
“Mary Crawley, are you staring at my body?” He laughed.  
“No I. No…” _“Oh pull yourself together Mary Crawley!”_  
“Liar. Come here you.”  
“No!” Mary squealed as he chased her around the car.  
“You are in so much trouble now.” He growled when he caught hold of her waist and turned her in his arms for another ardent kiss. Her fingers slipped over the soft skin of his body and she could not suppress her moans as his hands did the same to her back under her blouse.  
“Mmm. When you said we were going for a test drive, I had no idea this was what you had in mind.”  
“Then you don’t know me very well do you?”

When they eventually broke free of each other Henry jumped into the car to start it.  
“I won’t get dressed until I know it’s fixed.”  
It started first time.  
“Ah. That’s not quite right.”  
It sounded perfect to Mary.

Henry lifted the bonnet, pulled something hard and the engine stopped dead.  
“Oh dear.” He exclaimed in a not very convincing tone. “It looks like we’re going to be stuck here all night after all.” He looked up just in time to see Mary’s obvious delight.

“Well then.” Henry rubbed his hands together. “Shall we hop in the back? Just watch out for the gearstick!”  
Mary settled herself in the back of the car.  
“Aren’t you going to get dressed? You’ll get cold like that.”  
“I was hoping that you might keep me warm.” He said raising his eyebrows.  
“You just don’t give up, do you?”  
“No.” He put on his shirt but left it unbuttoned and then joined her on the back seat, immediately engaging her lips in another kiss.

“Henry, someone might come.”  
“No-one ever comes down this lane.”  
“How do you know that?”  
“Tom told me he used to come here with Sybil to be alone.”  
“You… you planned this!”  
He looked a bit sheepish as he confessed, “Sorry, but it’s impossible to be with you on our own.”  
“My family will worry if we don’t get home tonight.”  
“No. Tom is going to….”  
“You planned this with Tom!!”  
“Well not the details but he did help. There’s blankets and some food in the boot so we’ll be alright. Now where were we.” He resumed kissing Mary and started to unbutton her blouse.  
“Henry Talbot we are not going to … I think you should go back down to the stream and cool off because nothing is going to happen. I am not going along with your plan!” He pretended to look hurt. “And you can stop that.”  
“Not even a kiss and a cuddle?”  
“No. You don’t deserve it.”  
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll get the blankets and the picnic. I’ve just got to find the key.” Henry started to empty his pockets. “Here, hold this.” He placed something in Mary’s hand and continued to search in his pockets.

Mary looked down at what Henry had asked her to hold - a diamond and sapphire ring. She looked up into his smiling eyes.  
“Well Lady Mary?” He raised his eyebrows and waited.  
“Well what? You haven’t asked me anything yet.”  
“Will you marry me?”  
“You’re never going to give up are you?” She sighed.  
“No.”  
“Oh hang it all! Yes.” 

Just as Mary had predicted, spending the night in the car _was_ uncomfortable, but it was also much more fun than she could ever have imagined.


End file.
